6/5/14

(From p.56) Utopian fiction is a genre of literature that centers on an imaginary, ideal state called a utopia. The earliest book of this type was written by the Greek philosopher Plato (The Republic, c. 370 BC), but it was Englishman Sir Thomas Moore who first used the term, 'utopia', in his 1516 book by the same name. Through the metaphor of the perfect alternative society, which functions within a system of social and political perfection, visionary authors of Utopian novels cast a critical eye on their contemporary societies and make projections on what their improved versions could be like. A Utopian state, for example, may be free from illness, poverty, or prejudice of any kind. The opposite of a Utopian state is a Dystopia. As the prefix suggests, it is a world where all that's bad in modern society has prevailed, robbing its inhabitants of justice, their freedom, hope and happiness. One of the best examples of a dystopian society is George Orwell's impoverished, totalitarian state as described in his book Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949). Some authors combine both imaginary worlds, either by creating a hybrid of the two, or by juxtaposing the two extremes in an attempt to inform the reader of the potential benefits or dangers that may lie in our future as a society. For this week's assignment, you are going to write a Utopian or Dystopian short story. (Key word being SHORT STORY). It may only be 250 - 300 words.This low word count determines how much detail you can include. You must clearly develop the beginning, middle and end BEFORE you write. Making it up as you go will result in an imbalanced story. Use a limited amount of characters and use dialogue sparingly. Twists are good, but putting in too many will lead to too much useless information. I. Read some popular examples and tips: Tips: http://www.creative-writing-now.com/short-short-stories.html Examples: http://www.online-literature.com/poe/44/ http://www.squidoo.com/flashfictionforeveryone#module56337242 http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Micro-Fiction-Short-Stories-from-Famous-Writers II. Brainstorming: These topics should be well thought out before you write your story Listing: Character(s) Setting Plot - begginning, middle, end III. Writing - Due Monday, June 9th @ 8:30am 250 - 300 words. NO MORE, NO LESS! good luck!